Adrien Knows! - Antibug
by Kryokina
Summary: A sweet moment between Marinette and Cat Noir during the Antibug episode. It ends on a bit of a downer, but I didn't want to write what the episode already showed to happen the next day (like that face Adrien made at the end of the episode. He just has to know something!). In fact, why don't you go rewatch Antibug once you're done reading this? I'm telling you this fits perfectly!


[LB PoV]

Marinette tugged on Cat Noir's stick with all her might. She had to bring her partner away from the edge of the porch of the Bourgeois hotel to safety, with or without her costume. She hoped Antibug (aka Chloe) would stay away long enough for her to pull this off, and she _certainly_ hoped Cat Noir did not suspect she was Ladybug. Desperate times call for desperate measures, even risking the loss of your secret identity and thus of your loved ones' safety.…At least it was only Cat Noir and not someone like Hawkmoth.

"Hey, Princess! What are you doing here?" Cat Noir asked after Marinette had pulled him back onto the porch and untied him from the stick.

"No time to explain," she said. For a moment, she forgot she wasn't in disguise and started giving the black cat her plan. "Antibug will be back any minute! Leave your stick the way it is and hide. That way, you'll have the element of surprise on your side."

Marinette was about to leave, but then Cat Noir said, "Wait, Princess! Can we talk later?"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, sure. Just GO!"

Cat Noir ran off to make himself discreet. Marinette hid herself as well while she waited for her kwami Tikki to finish eating her cookie and regain her energy. As she stood there, she pondered over what she had just done. She hadn't put on the clueless-but-eager-to-help act for him like she normally did; she took charge and displayed Ladybug-level confidence. Plus, he wanted her to explain herself afterwards! What on Earth would she say? She took a deep breath to calm herself. "That silly kitty probably won't even remember to talk with me later," she mumbled to herself. "Why would he ever _want_ to talk with me anyway? I'm just a poor baker's daughter. Yeah, everything will be fine." She looked up to see Cat Noir and Antibug dueling again. "It worked!" She smiled to herself for making another successful plan.

"I'm good to go, Marinette!" a high-pitched voice squealed. Tikki flew out from Marinette's purse and hovered in front of her face.

"Yes! Tikki, spots on!" With that, Ladybug dashed back to help Cat Noir.

[CN PoV]

After defeating Antibug, Cat Noir headed for Marinette's house. He had been there a couple of times, sometimes as Cat Noir and sometimes as Adrien, so he knew the way. He had to understand what had happened to Marinette. He had seen her super-awkward-and-clumsy side at school, and he had seen her excited-to-work-with-a-superhero side when he interacted with her on a few missions. But he had never seen Marinette act so confidently or speak so intelligently as he just had. In that moment, she reminded him so much of Ladybug, the love of his life. She even had the dark pigtails, bluebell eyes, and light, breezy voice to match. Could Marinette be Ladybug? The more he thought about it, the more he felt sure of it. He wondered why he had never suspected it before.

When he arrived at the house, he looked through Marinette's window into her room. She wasn't there. He was about to open the window and climb inside to look for her when he saw Ladybug swing overhead. She landed on the balcony of Marinette's house and said, "Spots off!" Then, Cat Noir saw Marinette walk down the stairs into her room.

So he was right! Marinette was the love of his life! He wanted to run up to her and give her a hug, but he realized how upset she would be if she knew he knew. He had to keep his new knowledge a secret.

Cat Noir waited for a couple minutes before he climbed through her window. "Hey, Princess!"

Marinette shrieked and whipped her chair around to face him. "H-hi, Cat Noir! Why…why are _you_ here?"

"Don't you remember? You said we would talk after Antibug was defeated."

Marinette groaned and hid her face in her hands. After a few moments, she sighed in defeat, leaned back in her chair, and asked, "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I suppose I just want to know why you saved me. Most civilians don't have the courage to act when they see someone in trouble, and I'm sure anyone else witnessing what was happening thought a superhero could handle himself."

Marinette smiled the fakest grin he had ever seen as she replied, "I, you know, just…I was walking my dog and saw you were in trouble…and Ladybug wasn't around, so…I didn't want to lose one of the _coolest_ superheroes _ever_ because some brat like Chloe decided to get revenge on Ladybug…so…yeah!"

[LB PoV]

Marinette wanted to smack herself. She sounded so unconvincing. Why couldn't she have come up with a better excuse? She crossed her fingers, hoping Cat Noir would believe her.

Those green eyes stared at her a moment in disbelief. Then he said, "Marinette, do you love me?"

Her mouth dropped open. She had expected him to ask her something like how she knew Ladybug was unavailable and not fighting crime somewhere else, or even just to say he didn't believe her. He caught her completely off-guard. How had she implied that she had the slightest hint of feelings for him? "N-no. Why?" she stammered after a moment. "What? Do _you_ love me?" She almost laughed at herself for asking such a thing. Cat Noir was such a flirt, too busy charming every girl he meets to focus his love on one person. Nothing like _Adrien_ , so kind to everyone he meets that he would have no problem loving anyone.

"Pfft, no," Cat Noir answered with a smirk. "I…have my heart set on someone else."

Marinette was taken aback by this statement. So he really _did_ love someone! She was intrigued. "So who _is_ this lucky girl?"

"Ladybug, of course!" he replied. Marinette was stunned. "Most people adore her for all her heroic deeds for the city of Paris. Not me. I don't _just_ adore her; I _love_ her! She's so confident and smart and _amazing_! I prove with each mission we set off on together that I would make a great partner for her." All this time, she thought he was just out to get attention and joke around. Now, she saw that he had been trying his hardest to charm her because he actually loved her! He was failing, of course, but he had little knowledge of how to catch a lady because she was probably the first person he truly loved. "I have no doubt we were meant to be," Cat Noir continued, "but…I just wish _she_ could see that as well." He looked intensely into Marinette's eyes before his face fell. Then, after a moment, he straightened and smiled. "So, Marinette, do _you_ have your heart set on anyone in particular?"

Once again, Marinette did not expect this. She fell right out of her chair – for the most part (as her leg refused to untangle itself from the arm of the chair and fall with the rest of her body). She scrambled up and stuttered, "N-no! No! No! Well…maybe, but NO!"

"Come on," the sly kitty urged. "I've already confessed. Now, it's your turn!"

Marinette sighed. "What have I gotten myself into? I should've never started this game of confessions." She took a deep breath and said firmly, "Okay, I'll tell you who the love of my life is. BUT you have to promise not to tell anyone, _especially_ him! Got it?"

"I swear; cat's honor." He put one hand over his heart and held up the other for emphasis.

She breathed again. "Okay. It's Adrien Agreste."

[CN PoV]

Cat Noir's mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe it! He'd always thought Marinette was _scared_ of him, stuttering and falling over all the time when he was around. She _should_ have been scared of him after he appeared to assist the most insensitive person in Paris: Mademoiselle Chloe Bourgeois. It hadn't even crossed his mind that she might actually _like_ him after he had apologized for the misunderstanding. Marinette paced across the room as she explained, "I don't know if you know who he is, but he is the son of my role model, Gabriel Agreste, the most AMAZING fashion designer ever! Most girls in school like him – I wouldn't be surprised if every girl in Paris likes him – but they don't think of him the way I do. They all want him 'cause he's a rich hottie. I'm different; I like him for _who he is_. Ever since that day he set me straight about his intentions, I've felt butterflies in my heart whenever he passed by. He's just so kind and talented and _perfect_! I feel like we were made for each other, but I can't even speak to him without foaming at the mouth, even over a _stupid_ phone!" She moaned in despair and fell onto her bed, her face buried in her pillow (which, Cat Noir noticed with amusement, resembled a black-and-white-striped _cat_ ).

After Marinette was silent for a few seconds, he spoke up. "Why don't you want him to know you love him?"

"Don't you DARE say a word to him! You hear me, you awful cat?! Don't you DARE!" Then, the fire in her eyes was washed away with tears. "Maybe I'll tell him someday, but I need to get control of myself first. If he knew now, all my chances with him would be ruined because he'd think I was the clumsiest, dorkiest, creepiest girlfriend in the history of Paris! He…he'd move on to one of the many other options he has to choose from." She broke into violent sobs.

Cat Noir was speechless. He longed to tell her that he was Adrien, that he knew she was Ladybug, that he'd love his little Bugaboo forever…but he knew she'd probably die of shame after revealing all _that_ to him. Instead, he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and stared into her eyes. "Marinette, listen to me. I may not know much about getting your crush to like you, but I _do_ know confidence is a quality everyone admires. You are a brave and talented girl; anyone would love to get to know you. I wouldn't be surprised if there have been quite a few people who have had a crush on you already, and if you can feel confident in yourself, I'm sure Adrien will start liking you, too." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

[LB PoV]

"Thanks, Cat Noir," Marinette said. "You can be pretty sweet sometimes – I-I mean, you're being sweet…right now, and I guess if I knew you well…I'd see your sweet side other times, too! I totally don't know you very well at all except that you and Ladybug are _awesome_ superheroes!" Marinette wanted to scream at herself; she sounded so lame. She needed him get out before she spilled ALL her secrets. "Oh, look at the time! You need to go. I think it's almost time for my…uh…dinner! Yeah. Later!" She shoved the cat out her window, closed it, and breathed. "That was close, Tikki! I nearly gave away my secret identity to Cat Noir!"

Tikki flew out from her purse. "Yeah," she said. "But you gave away another secret, too!"

"I know. I mean, it was only fair. I now know Cat Noir loves me and I don't love him back. He deserved to know who else had stolen my heart, even if he can't know I'm Ladybug. Besides, it's hard keeping it just between me, my parents, and my BFF, even though I'm sure she's told Nino, too." Marinette dropped to the floor and brought out a bunch of magazine clippings from under her bed. "Now that everyone who comes to my house a lot knows about my love for Adrien, I _suppose_ I can put these back up…at least until Adrien comes over again." She smiled dreamily at her collection of Adrien's photoshoot pictures.

"That's my girl!" Tikki encouraged. "Turn this into a positive situation!"

[CN PoV]

Cat Noir was heading back to the Agreste mansion, his lonely, rather unbearable home. He couldn't decide whether he wanted to laugh or cry at the crazy love square between Ladybug and him. They loved each other and didn't love each other at the same time! He whispered to himself, "I need to get Ladybug to love me before I reveal I'm Adrien. But how?...Maybe I should act more like Cat Noir when I'm Adrien and more like Adrien when I'm Cat Noir. She should at least _suspect_ I'm Adrien, even if I can't get her to love me." He shrugged and landed behind a tree near the large gates of his house. He couldn't let the cameras, which his father had set up everywhere on the property, reveal his secret identity. Once transformed back into Adrien, he walked through the gate and up to the front door, returning to the gloomy story he knew as life.


End file.
